Joint for metal culverts or the like



G. A. BELDING.

JOINT FOR METAL CULVERTS OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MALI, 1920.

1,395,253. Patented NOV- 1, 1921;

GEORGE A. BELIjING, OF EI'LLINGS, MONTANA.

' JOINT FOR METAL CULVERTS 'OR CHI-IE LIKE.

Specification ofLettcrsPztent.

Patented Nov. '1, 1921.

Application filed Ma-rch 31, 1920. Serial No. 370,214.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Greece AJBELDING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Billings, in the county of Yellowstone and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Joints for Metal Culverts or the like,.of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to culverts, and particularly to culverts made in sections of corrugated metal.

The general object of this invention. is to provide improved means for connecting the culvert sections to each other.

A further object is to provide connecting means which will permit these sections to be readily assembled or readily disassembled, the connectingmeans being so constructed as to form the least possible obstruction on the interior of the culvert.

A further object is to provide an improved joint for connecting the sheet metal sections to each other.

Other objects will appear inthe course of the followingdescription. 7

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of. a culvert constructed in accordance with my invention; I

' Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2- 2 of Fig.1

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the same lines as Fig. 2, but showing a modification of the joint;

i Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Figl Fig. 1;

Fig. 'Z'is a fragmentary sectional view of the longitudinal margin of one culvert section- Fig. 8 is a like sectional view of the longitudinal margin of the opposed section;

Figs. ,9 and 10 are face views of the two sections shown in Figs. 7 and 8;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary section showing my invention applied to a culvert having a shape other than circular.

Referring to these drawings, it wlll be seen that I have illustrated in Fig. 1 a portion of an ordinary circular culvert of corrugated sheet metal, wherein the upper section A at 6 is a section on the line 66 of openings 10 arranged equi-distantly its margin fits within the margin of the lower section B, and wherein the section'A at its end fits over a section A and the section B at one end fits over a section B, the

the edge of the section, these openings, as shown in Fig. 9, being preferably somewhat elliptical in form. The section B or. B at its along margins is provided with a more or less resilient and relatively thick, narrow tongue 11 on its inside face, which tongue isapproxlmately rectangular in plan and is attached at its base to the sheet metal of the lower section by means of a rivet 12. Beyond'this rivet the inner face of the tongue is spaced from the confronting face of the section, as at 13. In Fig. 2 this spacing is secured by oifsetting the tongue. The face of the tongue confronting the inner face of the section is somewhat curved both longitudinally and transversely to fit the curvature of the circular pipe and fit between the corrugations of this pipe or culvert, and adjacent its free end has a screw-threaded perforation 14 which registers with a perforation 15 formed in the marginal wall of the lower section. lVhen the upper section is placed in engagement with the lower section, the-perforations 10 register with the perforations 15 and 141: to-permit-the passageof an attaching screw 16 having a many-sided head 17 whereby a wrench may be applied to tighten up on the screw.

I do not wish to be limited to ofi-setting the tongue 11, as the same result may be accomplished by off-setting the margin of the metal forming the section to which the A tongue is applied. Thus, in 4 the. tongue 11 is not ofif'set, but the sheet metal of the section Bis off-set, at 18, so as to provide a "space for the reception of. the margin of the opposed culvertsection. Otherwise than this, the construction shown in Fig. 1 is identical with that shown in Fig. 2 and in Figs. 7

' and 8.

It is obvious that ordinarily the margin of the upper section and the margin of the lower section will overlap so that there will be two plies of metal between the head 17 of the screw 16 and the tongue 11. Where the two upper sections A and A join, however, it is obvious that there will be three thick nesses of metal between the head 17 of the screw and the tongue, as illustrated most clearly in Fig. 6, and the same is true of the jointbetween the sections 13 and B and the section A. V

The sections A and A and the sections B and B will be connected at intervals by screws, bolts or other engaging devices. While I do not wish to be limited to any particular engaging devices, it will be obvious that the construction such as I have shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4t and 7 and 8 may be used for this purpose, that is the section A, for instance, be provided with a tongue such as the tongue 11 and the section A to be provided with a slot through which a bolt, such as the bolt 16, passes into the tongue. I do not wish to be limited, therefore, to the i use of the connectionsshown in F igs. 2, 3

and 1 and Figs. 7 and 8 for the purpose of connecting longitudinally extending sections, as this device may also be used for the purpose of connecting sections end to end.

I "While the ordinary form of culverts is that of a circle, yet under some circumstances culverts will be formed with aflat bottom anda rounded top, as illustrated in Fig. 11, where thesection B is flat but has upwardly andinwardly turned side margins, while the section A is arcuate. The same form of fastening device is used, however, with these sections as with the completely arcuate sections, and I have illustrated the construction shown in Fig. 11 merely for the purpose of indicatin that my fastenihg device might be applied to connecting the overlapping marginal edges of sections of any character, and that I do not wish to be limited to the use of these fastening devices for connecting semi-circular sections, nor doI wish to be limited to the use of these fastening devices only on the longitudinally extending joints of a structure, as they may be used wherever one piece of sheet metal overlaps another. 2

I claim:

1. A structure of the character described including two overlapping sections, one of said sections being formed with a perforation in its wall and on its inside face being provided with a relatively narrow and thick tongue extending parallel'to the wall but spaced therefrom and formed with, a perforation alining with the perforation in the signature.

2. A culvert comprising a serles of upper,

transversely curved-sections and a series of transversely curved, lower sections, said sections being transversely corrugated, the ends of the upper sections being overlapped and the ends of the lower sections being overlapped, the longitudinal margins of the upper sections overlapping the longitudinal margins of the lower sections, the margins of the upper and lower sections having alining perforations, a series of tongues attached at intervals along the margin of the lower section on the inside face thereof, said tongues ontheir faces confronting the lower section being longitudinally curved and transversely rounded to conform to the corrugations thereof and formed with a screw-threaded 'opening, the portion of the tongue havinga screw-threaded opening being spaced from the confronting face of the lower section, and a headed screw passing through the perforations and into said screw-threaded opening whereby to draw the tongue and the sections into engagement with each other.

3. A transversely corrugated culvert section having a relatively narrow, relatively thick tongue disposed on the inside face of the tongue and the tongue being perforated,

a headed screw adapted to be inserted through said perforations and having screwthreaded engagement with said tongue, and a coacting culvert section insertible between the tongue and the first named culvert secthe culvert section and having a base formed tion and having a perforation for the passage of the screw. I l

In testimony whereof hereunto affix my GEORGE A. BELDING. 

